An Islander takes target practice in one of Mobile Tactics three shooting bays.
This wall safe makes a wise purchase to safely store your firearms at home.
An assortment of firearms is for sale in the retail store.
Semi-automatics as well as revolvers are available for sale.

An Islander takes position in the shooting bay, as D’Alessandro looks on.

Approximately two years ago Marco Islanders Ed D’Alessandro and Mike Christoff opened Mobile Tacticsa shooting range inside a 53-foot semi trailer. Two months ago the retail store opened, carrying assorted firearms and accessories. The range has three shooting bays. The sound proof range is in a safely contained environment. Fully equipped all shooters pay for is range time and ammunition. Firearms are made available to those who don’t have their own as well as hearing protection.

We do charge for training. Here, we have set up targets at 15 feet, because 85% of all lethal encounters occur at 15 feet; 54% are five feet or less. It’s the invasion of spacethat’s the terror factor,” D’Alessandro said.

D’Alessandro is a retired New York City police department officer who spent his last 11 years of service in the emergency service unit. He is now a Marco Island police officer. “This is the only indoor range in Collier County. The laws in Florida are very pro-self defense. We teach you when you should shoot and when you shouldn’t. You want to instill in people the ability to make a good judgment decision. Did the person have evil intent? It’s important not to take it as a license to kill. We concentrate on the thought process with students on how to reason through a situation when you are under stress. The philosophy is the same as police department trainingit’s designed around officers’ encounters,” D’Alessandro explained.

Mike Christoff is from Dearborn, Michigan, and has been on Marco for five years, where he now serves as a reserve officer for the Marco Island police department. Both Ed and Mike are firearms instructors for the Marco Island police department. They are certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local academy in Fort Myers.

“We’ll teach on anything from a .22 caliber handgun to a .50 caliber rifle. We have a lot of women who use the rangethey find it empowering. One of the biggest surprises is most people don’t know they have a dominant eye,” D’Alessandro said.

“The C.A.P.S. live-fire decision-making system is also available to shooters. This is the Canadian Academy of Practical Shooting’s DVD video of 480 scenarios, mostly geared to law enforcement, but civilians love it. You can use this individually or in a group. It’s an audio visual scenario where you respond with live fire, using your weapon to respond to that target,” Christoff explained. “People perceive the same threat differently. In the two years we’ve been here, we’ve received a lot of positive response from the citizens on the Island.”